Mitra comes from a family of musicians and artists,

Mitra (center) and her family in 1978

Mitra comes from a family of musicians and artists, so she says dancing was already in her blood. It was the natural thing for her to do. "My grandmother always encouraged us to dance so I started at a very young age. I was four years old when I took my first lessons. My decision to dance was also inspired by my admiration for my mother's sister who was a famous dancer. She was my hero and I wanted to emulate her."

Mitra mentions her hero again when asked why she chose to come to the US. Her aunt, Manjusri Chaki Sircar, was living here and Mitra again found herself inspired by this relative's life. As her wish was to come to the US, a marriage was arranged for her with an Indian man who was residing in this country. By the time Mitra left for America, she had a degree in Music and Dance, and had been a disciple of two renowned dance teachers. One of the teachers, Guru Khelendra Singh known as Mukherjee, taught her the Manipuri style of dance for 15 years, while the other teacher, Guru Padmasri Muralidhar Majhi, taught her the Orissi style for 10 years. Mitra's aunt had also been her dance teacher, opening her mind to the possibilities of self-expression in dance.

Mitra's aunt became freer in her interpretation of dance as she lived abroad, using Western modern dance as well as her own inventions in her performances. She became very successful and gained recognition within Western society for her creativity. Mitra, however, found that living in the West made her traditionally trained background all the more valuable and prefers to stay within its boundaries.